Remove details that do not belong
Grade 8 Reading Worksheet - Building Confidence
Circle the best answer.
Read this first
Street Trees and City Summers (student draft: informative)
[1] Planting trees along city streets, a practice centuries old, does more than make a block look pleasant. [2] On a hot afternoon, a shaded sidewalk can be many degrees cooler than pavement in full sun, because leaves block sunlight and release water vapor. [3] Researchers comparing blocks with and without mature trees often find that shaded blocks stay cooler during heat waves, which can cut the need for air conditioning. [4] Trees also change how a neighborhood is valued, since homes on tree-lined blocks often sell for more than similar homes elsewhere.
[5] Trees also help cities cope with heavy rainfall that overwhelms aging drains. [6] A large tree catches rain on its leaves, while its roots loosen packed soil so that more water soaks in instead of rushing toward storm drains. [7] During intense storms, this slower runoff can ease the strain on sewer systems, a problem that older cities know well. [8] A newly planted sapling may need twenty years before its canopy catches much rain.
[9] The air that residents breathe also improves where trees are plentiful. [10] Leaves trap dust and soot on their surfaces, and later rainfall washes much of it to the ground, where it is less likely to be inhaled. [11] Studies in several cities estimate that urban forests remove thousands of tons of air pollution yearly, although the amount depends on how many trees a city has. [12] A single tree in a front yard can also give songbirds a place to nest, a pleasure that many residents mention.
[13] Cities can protect the trees they already have, because mature trees deliver the greatest benefit. [14] A city that plants thousands of trees in one season can end up with a canopy of trees that are the same age and may decline together.
Ari thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support its point about how street trees cool a block in summer. Which sentence should be cut?
- [4] Trees also change how a neighborhood is valued, since homes on tree-lined blocks often sell for more than similar homes elsewhere.
- [2] On a hot afternoon, a shaded sidewalk can be many degrees cooler than pavement in full sun, because leaves block sunlight and release water vapor.
- [3] Researchers comparing blocks with and without mature trees often find that shaded blocks stay cooler during heat waves, which can cut the need for air conditioning.
- [1] Planting trees along city streets, a practice centuries old, does more than make a block look pleasant.
Bo thinks [8] does not belong in paragraph 2. Which reason explains why?
- It says that trees do not help with rainfall, which contradicts the topic sentence in [5].
- It is true, but it raises how long a young tree takes to grow, not what mature trees do about heavy rain.
- It cannot be right, because even a young tree catches some rain from the day it is planted.
- It repeats the point of [7] about the strain on sewer systems, so the paragraph says the same thing twice.
Esme wants to add one sentence after [7] to support the point of paragraph 2. Which sentence does that best?
- Cities in dry regions often choose tree species that need very little water once their roots are established in the soil.
- There are many other ways that trees can help a city cope with the heavy rainfall that comes with storms.
- Some cities now build tree trenches along streets, which give roots room to grow and give stormwater a place to soak in.
- Large trees catch rain on their leaves, which keeps some water from reaching storm drains at once.
Jun thinks one sentence in paragraph 3 does not support its point about how trees affect the air. Which sentence should be cut?
- [11] Studies in several cities estimate that urban forests remove thousands of tons of air pollution yearly, although the amount depends on how many trees a city has.
- [9] The air that residents breathe also improves where trees are plentiful.
- [10] Leaves trap dust and soot on their surfaces, and later rainfall washes much of it to the ground, where it is less likely to be inhaled.
- [12] A single tree in a front yard can also give songbirds a place to nest, a pleasure that many residents mention.
Kira thinks [14] does not belong in paragraph 4. Which reason explains why?
- It is true, but it warns about planting many new trees at once, not about protecting the trees a city already has.
- It argues against planting trees, which contradicts the whole essay and the topic sentence.
- It repeats the point of [13] about the benefit of mature trees, so the paragraph says it twice.
- It is wrong, since planting thousands of trees at once would help a city and could not cause a problem.
Luz wants to add one sentence after [13] to support the point of paragraph 4. Which sentence does that best?
- Cities have many options for taking good care of their trees if they choose to use them.
- Young trees need watering for their first few years, so many cities ask neighbors to help water new plantings on their own streets and in nearby parks.
- Leaving wide strips of soil beside sidewalks gives roots room to grow, and repairing pavement around mature trees can save them from removal.
- Mature trees deliver the greatest benefit, which is why cities should protect the ones they already have.
Longer Evening Hours at the Library (letter to the town council) (student draft: request letter)
[1] The Eastgate Library closes at six o'clock on weekdays, an hour that suits retired people and small children but gives working families little time to visit. [2] A survey of 140 homes, done by the library board last spring, found that 83 of them would use the library more if it stayed open until nine. [3] Teachers at the middle school say that many students cannot finish their research at home, since some families have no steady internet. [4] The meeting room, which seats forty, is booked nearly every weekend by local groups, a sign that people depend on the building.
[5] Opening later would also cost less than many neighbors expect. [6] The board figures that three extra hours on four evenings would add about eleven thousand dollars a year, mostly for staff pay. [7] Volunteers from the high school's service club have offered to run the front desk on two of those evenings, which would cut the total. [8] The roof, put on in 2004, will need to be replaced within ten years at a far higher price, a job the board is already planning.
[9] Evening hours would help people who have no other quiet place to work. [10] Several neighbors who run small businesses from home said they would use the library's tables and printers after their children go to bed. [11] Students getting ready for exams could study without fighting siblings or televisions for attention, a benefit the guidance counselor called important. [12] The shelves hold more than nine thousand children's books, many given by local families over the past ten years.
[13] The council can start with a trial period instead of a permanent change. [14] Libraries in some other towns have cut their hours when budgets got tight, a trend that boards watch closely.
Milo thinks one sentence in paragraph 1 does not support its point that evening hours would help residents use the library. Which sentence should be cut?
- [2] A survey of 140 homes, done by the library board last spring, found that 83 of them would use the library more if it stayed open until nine.
- [1] The Eastgate Library closes at six o'clock on weekdays, an hour that suits retired people and small children but gives working families little time to visit.
- [3] Teachers at the middle school say that many students cannot finish their research at home, since some families have no steady internet.
- [4] The meeting room, which seats forty, is booked nearly every weekend by local groups, a sign that people depend on the building.
Noah thinks [8] does not belong in paragraph 2. Which reason explains why?
- It is probably wrong, because a roof that is just twenty years old would not need replacing.
- It is true, but it describes a different and larger cost, the roof, not the cost of the extra evening hours.
- It repeats the cost figures in [6], so the paragraph gives the same numbers twice.
- It says the library cannot afford any new hours, which contradicts the topic sentence in [5].
Ren thinks one sentence in paragraph 3 does not support its point about a quiet place to work. Which sentence should be cut?
- [10] Several neighbors who run small businesses from home said they would use the library's tables and printers after their children go to bed.
- [12] The shelves hold more than nine thousand children's books, many given by local families over the past ten years.
- [11] Students getting ready for exams could study without fighting siblings or televisions for attention, a benefit the guidance counselor called important.
- [9] Evening hours would help people who have no other quiet place to work.
Tala thinks [14] does not belong in paragraph 4. Which reason explains why?
- It is true, but it describes towns that cut hours, which does not support starting a trial of longer hours.
- It cannot be right, because library boards would not cut hours when their budgets tighten.
- It repeats the point of [13] that the council can start small, so the paragraph says it twice.
- It argues that the council should refuse the trial, which contradicts the topic sentence in [13].